GSV Capital’s (GSVC) figure worked out to $19.80 per share as of June 30, when the company held more than $1.8 million Twitter common shares which it valued at $36.4 million. Backing out the numbers from a an Oct. 3 filing puts you in roughly the same ballpark for the position, which is 15.1% of fund assets.

The upshot: If it’s tricky for fund managers to value a private company, it’s even trickier for fund investors.

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There are 4 comments

OCTOBER 25, 2013 2:32 A.M.

Caw wrote:

Facebook Redux

OCTOBER 25, 2013 8:10 A.M.

John wrote:

So, you seem to be conflicting yourself here. If you are saying that the initial IPO price is going to be between $17 and $20, but you clearly site that Firsthand Tech and GSVC both calculate value prices higher than that. If so, then one can expect something of a modest pop in the share price, correct? This seems to me to be far smarter and better than what happened with FB, which was greatly overvalued IPO price, and then tanked. The way you are describing the Twitter approach, leaves room for a pop, and sustainability of the price. Seems to me the Funds will benefit better this way, and investors will feel comfortable buying and holding the shares. A far better outcome than what occurred with FB.

OCTOBER 25, 2013 8:53 A.M.

Mitch wrote:

@john-I agree, and couple that with the fact that twitter isn't flooding the market with tons of shares (and massive amounts of insider shares) it should make for a very successful IPO.

OCTOBER 25, 2013 12:37 P.M.

Griff wrote:

And I would be that once they do the road show the price will go up as demand will be strong.

About Focus on Funds

As exchange-traded funds and other investing vehicles have ballooned in number, the task of figuring out what works well and what doesn’t has only gotten harder. Barrons.com’s Focus on Funds looks under the hood of ETFs, mutual funds and hedge funds for overlooked values, actionable ideas and the latest pitfalls for fund investors.

Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.